What do you get when you gather a group of savvy Generation X-ers and ask them to speak out?
It's not "Dr. Ruth Meets The Joy of Sex" and not "Madonna Does Bondage." It's more "Oscar Wilde Talks Naughty on a Cell Phone." Conversational and candid, this collection of writings range from the hilarious to the lyrical.
Whether it's Internet mating, sex and spirituality, ethnic penises, or bad seduction music, these young writers bring intelligence, fun, and a refreshing no nonsense approach to discussing sex, identity, and lust.

THE FIRST FINANCIAL GUIDE TAILORED EXCLUSIVELY TO LESBIAN AND GAY COUPLES ON HOW TO PROTECT THEIR ASSETS WHEN LAWS FAIL. Lesbian and gay couples can achieve solid, long-term financial security--but they need to arm themselves with foresight, awareness, and facts. That's what this book is all about. Now, drawing on more than twenty years' experience as a financial adviser to lesbian and gay couples, Harold L. Lustig has written the definitive financial guide for you and your partner. Through Lustig's four easy-to-follow steps to economic security--PLAN, PLAN, PLAN; PROTECT WHAT'S YOURS; THINK COMMUNITY; USE NON-CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AND TAKE ACTION--this invaluable book gives you workable financial strategies and up-to-date information on- Estate planning--why it's especially vital for you and your loved one- Tax advantages available to you--and not to legally recognized couples- Reducing your tax load through charitable contributions and shifting assets- A domestic partner agreement--why it is critical to your financial well-being- Avoiding the "gay penalty" on long-term health care and retirement plans- Tips for funding a college education--without dropping into the red- Reentering the job market when you are HIV positive- Buying and fine-tuning disability insurance- The facts about joint ownershipAnd much more!Despite unfavorable laws, you can protect your assets, provide for retirement, avoid discriminatory penalties, and ensure that you and your partner enjoy and share what you've earned together. From building and transferring wealth with life insurance to creating documents that protect you when marital laws do not, this clear, smart, practical guide provides the essential financial information that every lesbian and gay couple needs and deserves. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Homosexuality has been politicized. But when the issue hits home, whether it involves a family member, colleague, or neighbor who's gay, all that controversy fades in the face of a real, live person who wants and deserves basic human rights and freedoms. Written by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people and those who care about them, 50 Ways to Support Lesbian and Gay Equality is a compendium of informative, joyful, and poignant essays by well-known experts, activists, and leaders, each promoting understanding while suggesting simple actions. From defining terminology ("What's gay baiting?"), to exploring family issues ("How can I support a lesbian couple who want to have children?"), the book deftly navigates workplace, cultural, and political issues. This timely and much-needed guide demonstrates positive ways to deal with everyday homophobia and heterosexism, or just plain uncertainty at the unfamiliar, offering guidance on issues ranging from the personal--what to say to a closeted friend --to the political--how to support gay rights around the world.

98 Wounds is a series of improbably linked stories that reimagines and reconciles the abject, the outlaw, the ostracized, the misfits, and the cranky contrarians among us. Gay people have never been as free--or divided--as in today's society. As the gay majority surges into the mainstream, a social construct has emerged depicting "Good Gays" and "Bad Gays." Endless mythmaking goes into dehumanizing the Bad. Barebackers, poz sexpigs, meth-users, sexual libertines, and fetishists have been blamed, shamed, and disdained. Any vicious untruth or loathsome rumor about them--even those contrary to science or common sense--is accepted without question. The characters populating 98 Wounds run roughshod in a city spiraling towards collapse. They broker urgent desires in constant pursuit of identity, obsession, rituals of hope, even the simplicity of an ordinary life. They unwaveringly root for their own understanding of belonging, contentment, pleasure, and love. In 98 Wounds, either we are all damned, or we are all saved: a sentiment that speaks to all cultures in these uncertain times.

Cruising the seamy underbelly of London's gay scene, James Moore Zamora is as eager to repel men as he is to seduce them. Handsome, sophisticated, intelligent, and vain, beneath his immaculately maintained exterior lies an elaborate network of deeply embedded scars from a lifetime filled with betrayal and isolation. Born to negligent, self-absorbed parents and raised among upper crust society on a picturesque Spanish island, at nine-years-old James is sent off to an exclusive Catholic boarding school in England. Met with savageness by his peers, and seduced by the twisted affections of his teachers, he soon develops a self-consciousness that passes for self-awareness and a profound cynicism that masks savage anger. Charged with linguistic precision, brutal honesty, and caustic wit, The Abomination is a disturbing yet electrifying account of one man's tortured coming of age.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Above All, Honor introduces single-minded Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts and the woman she is sworn to protect - Blair Powell, the daughter of the President of the United States. Cam's duty is her life and the only thing that keeps her from self-destructing under the unbearable weight of her own deep personal tragedy. However, she hasn't counted on the fact that her reluctant protectee will do anything in her power to escape the watchful eyes of her protectors, including seducing the agent in charge. Both women struggle with long-hidden secrets and dark passions as they are forced to confront their growing attraction amidst the escalating danger drawing ever closer to Blair.
From the dark shadows of rough trade bars in Greenwich Village to the elite galleries of Soho, each must balance duty with desire and, ultimately, choose between love and honor.

Grade 6-9-Sixteen-year-old Steven relishes square dancing, drools over his male health teacher's musculature, and keeps a stash of International Male catalogs underneath his bed, but is determined that he is absolutely, positively not gay. In an eager crack to prove his heterosexuality, he futilely attempts to buy a Playboy magazine, tries mingling with the meathead jocks at lunch, and embarks on a series of disastrous dates with girls from his class. From the outset, it's obvious that Larochelle's first novel is mostly lighthearted laughs as Steven tries to rid himself of deviant sexual behavior (as explained in an ancient teen sexuality book he borrowed from the library). When he finally does own up to his shortcomings as a heterosexual, he decides to out himself to his best friend, Rachel, who is relieved that he has finally told her and blabs the news to her entire family while urging him to form a gay-straight alliance in his high school the following day. Even though the good-natured humor does cloud the book's overall sense of reality at times, Larochelle's eye-opening and accurate portrayal of Steven's coming out will ring optimistically true for many teens and their friends who are struggling with sexuality issues. And it's the delivery of his outing, coated in a healthy dose of hilarity, that makes Absolutely, Positively Not a fast-paced, funny, and frivolously frank read

When people with no obvious connections to each other are dying in what appear to be legitimate accidents -- a fall down the stairs, a single-vehicle car crash, a drowning in a hot tub -- nothing seems amiss. Until, Detective Inspector Carol Ashton receives a call from a private investigator who works for a number of insurance companies. Recently, several large life insurance policy pay outs seem questionable but there is no proof of wrongdoing. As Carol begins an investigation of the completely unrelated deaths, she realizes this could be the toughest case of her career and perhaps, one impossible to solve.

These fierce stories of love on the front lines grab and hold readers' attention as they travel the world with these soldier on Active Duty. In the wake of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act getting repealed, Neil Plakcy brings the two issues together into heart-pounding vignettes of men of action who put their lives on the line to protect and serve. The heat of battle only amps up the level of excitement knowing that this tryst might be the last. These heroic hunks fight for love and honor and will have readers begging for their next debriefing!

They say bad news comes in threes. Jarrod Jarvis is about to test that theory. Bad news item #1. Former child actor Jarrod Jarvis fails to convince the California parole board not to release Wendell Butterworth, the stalker who has followed him since his first Oscar Mayer commercial. #2. Jarrod's NBC pilot flatlines before it even hits the air. #3. His agent/best friend Laurette decides to marry gorgeous, talent-free, and dubiously shady soap actor Juan Carlos Barranco. But things are about to get worse. During Laurette's drive-thru wedding at the Hearst Castle, one of the guests has a heated scene of his own with Juan Carlos--just before crashing into the three-tier wedding cake, poisoned by a glass of champagne. Jarrod is convinced that Juan Carlos is connected to the murder, and he's determined to get the goods on Laurette's new husband, even if it means trailing him to the set of his latest movie, a low-budget horror film, and taking a (gasp!) supporting role. It isn't long before Juan Carlos exposes himself not as a murderer, but as a Viagra-fueled player who is simultaneously bedding his sexy, older leading lady, his young female co-star and a hot Latin man he meets on the QT. Now, trapped in surreal South Florida, home of early bird specials, neon thongs, and, God forbid, his own parents, Jarrod is living out his worst nightmare, keeping an eye on his best friend's cheating husband, fighting his own attraction to a butch P. I. , playing opposite a child star who makes Linda Blair's "Exorcist" turn seem charming, and running from the mob. But while Jarrod has been following Juan's every salacious move, someone else has been tailing Jarrod. Someone who thinks he knows too much for his own good. Someone with the power to turn a cheesy slasher movie into cinema verite. . . and give Jarrod his final screen credit. . . "Wickedly amusing. . . This light confection is certain to tickle readers who appreciate Copp's flair in mixing mystery with a Hollywood Confidential wackiness. "--Publishers Weekly

Getting butchered at the hands of a serial killer in the "high concept" slasher film, Creeps, was supposed to revive former child star Jarrod Jarvis's career. Instead, it's a celluloid Titanic. While nursing his wounds at the post-premiere party at a Starbucks on Beverly Boulevard, Jarrod runs into Wallace Goodwin, one of the former writers on Go to Your Room, the beloved eighties show that made Jarrod a star. He's shocked to discover that the neurotic, egotistical Wallace has penned a play bound for London's West End, with a scene-stealing part for Jarrod. Faster than he can say his catchphrase, "Baby, don't even go there!" Jarrod's hitting the boards in London. . . and the boards are hitting back, big time. As much as the actors all seem to loathe one another, they truly resent Jarrod. The hotshot young director with a thing for girls named Kate berates him at every turn. British legend Dame Sylvia Horner is so sloshed she can barely read her lines. Bollywood beefcake Akshay Kapoor's one facial expression seems to be handsome glowering--when he isn't making eyes at Jarrod's hunky LAPD boyfriend, Charlie. And since coming out has made him hot again, Sir Anthony Stiles wastes no time "tutoring" every young actor in a twelve-mile radius. Jarrod's only friend in the cast is the formidable Claire Richards. The sexy, forty-something, champagne-swilling, Oscar-winning actress is the undisputed star of the show. No one can play a death scene like La Claire. Except that this time, the diva isn't faking it. She's been poisoned, and the last person to see her alive was Jarrod himself. . . Outrageous, wild, and absolutely fabulous, Rick Copp's The Actor's Guide to Greed skewers everything in its path and serves it up with mango chutney--proof positive that when the tart-tongued Jarrod Jarvis is on the case, the buzz is very, very good.

"Baby, don't even go there!" That was Jarrod Jarvis's catch phrase as the adorable, girl-crazy moppet on the eighties sitcom, Go To Your Room! It was a great ride until the tabloids caught the popular teen idol kissing another guy at the L. A. gay rodeo. "Gay" and "teen heartthrob" not exactly being career-making words at the time, Jarrod's star crashed harder than a Kathie Lee Gifford CD. Flash forward: Now happily living with his cop boyfriend, Charlie, and their dog, Snickers, in the Hollywood Hills, Jarrod's ready to hit the comeback trail. . . but he never imagines how fame will strike this time. At a reading with his psychic, Jarrod is disturbed to hear that someone close to him will be murdered and even more shocked when it turns out to be his best friend, Willard Ray Hornsby, also a former child star. When Willard is found face down in his own lap pool, the cops call it an accident, but Jarrod's far from convinced--and he's ready to play the Sherlock Holmes of West Hollywood to prove his conspiracy theory right. . . "Fast-paced and very funny, with a hip insider's view of Hollywood. The Actor's Guide to Murder is the reader's guide to a terrific time. I loved it. " --Laura Levine, author of Last Writes "A pumped-up, promising debut. . . the story has considerable zest and enough sprightly humor to keep readers glued and giggling. " --Publishers Weekly "I laughed all the way through The Actor's Guide to Murder. Here's hoping Jarrod stumbles across another dead body, and soon!" --Dean James, author of Decorated to Death "Rick Copp's Actor's Guide mysteries read like some hilariously wicked Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous--revealing juicy Hollywood secrets by the page!" --Jerrilyn Farmer, author of Mumbo Gumbo

Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor in North Carolina, was visited one morning in 1984 by Adam, a longtime parishioner whom he liked and respected. Adam said that he was gay, and that he was leaving The United Methodist Church, which had just pronounced that "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" could not be ordained. He would not be part of a community that excluded him. Creech found himself instinctively supporting Adam, telling him that he was sure that God loved and accepted him as he was. Adam's Gift is Creech's inspiring first-person account of how that conversation transformed his life and ministry. Adam's visit prompted Creech to re-evaluate his belief that homosexuality was a sin, and to research the scriptural basis for the church's position. He determined that the church was mistaken, that scriptural translations and interpretations had been botched and dangerously distorted. As a Christian, Creech came to believe that discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people was morally wrong. This understanding compelled him to perform same-gender commitment ceremonies, which conflicted with church directives. Creech was tried twice by The United Methodist Church, and, after the second trial, his ordination credentials were revoked. Adam's Gift is a moving story and an important chapter in the unfinished struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil and human rights.

Barney explores her family tree, chronicles her friendships and associations through reprinted correspondence and recreated conversations, and evokes the golden age of her salon in gallery of literary portraits.

Destined to become a classic in the tradition of the best-selling Black-Eyed Susans/Midnight Birds and Erotique Noire/ Black Erotica. Afrekete gives collective voice to the tradition of black lesbian writing. In the vast and proliferating area of both African-American and lesbian and gay writing, the work of black lesbians is most often excluded or relegated to the margins. Afrekete meshes these seemingly disparate traditions and celebrates black lesbian experiences in all their variety and depth. Elegant, timely, provocative, and inspiring, the fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in Afrekete -- written in a range of styles -- engage a variety of highly topical themes, placing them at the center of literary and social discourse. Beginning with "Tar Beach," an excerpt from Audre Lorde's celebrated memoir Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, which introduces the character Afrekete, the collection also includes such prominent writers as Michelle Cliff, Carolivia Herron, Jewelle Gomez, and Alexis De Veaux. Other pieces are by Jacqueline Woodson, Sapphire, Essence editor Linda Villarosa, and filmmaker Michelle Parkerson, with other contributions by exciting new writers Cynthia Bond, Jocelyn Taylor, Jamika Ajalon, and Sharee Nash. Afrekete is a collection whose time has come. It is an extraordinary work, one of lasting value for all lovers of literature. A fresh, engaging journey, Afrekete will both inform and delight.

Since queer theory originated in the early 1990s, its insights and modes of analysis have been taken up by scholars across the humanities and social sciences. In After Sex? prominent contributors to the development of queer studies offer personal reflections on the field's history, accomplishments, potential, and limitations. They consider the purpose of queer theory and the extent to which it is or is not defined by its engagement with sex and sexuality. For many of the contributors, a broad notion of sexuality is essential to queer thought. At the same time, some of them caution against creating an all-embracing idea of queerness, because it empties the term "queer" of meaning and assumes the universality of ideas developed in the North American academy. Some essays recall the political urgency of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when gay and lesbian activist and queer theory projects converged in response to the AIDS crisis. Other pieces exemplify more recent trends in queer critique, including the turn to affect and the debates surrounding the "antisocial thesis," which associates queerness with the repudiation of heteronormative forms of belonging. Contributors discuss queer theory's engagement with questions of transnationality and globalization, temporality and historical periodization. Meditating on the past and present of queer studies, After Sex? illuminates its future. Contributors. Lauren Berlant, Leo Bersani, Michael Cobb, Ann Cvetkovich, Lee Edelman, Richard Thompson Ford, Carla Freccero, Elizabeth Freeman, Jonathan Goldberg, Janet Halley, Neville Hoad, Joseph Litvak, Heather Love, Michael Lucey, Michael Moon, Jos Esteban Muoz, Jeff Nunokawa, Andrew Parker, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Richard Rambuss, Erica Rand, Bethany Schneider, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Kate Thomas

Five women at critical crossroads in their lives come together in this gem of a novel set on an island off the coast of Vancouver
<P>
After the Fire introduces a quintet of very different women as they struggle with abandonment, loss, and new beginnings--both together and alone. There is Karen Tasuki, who recently separated from her partner and wonders if she'll ever get used to being alone... until she befriends Red, who cleans houses for the island's privileged inhabitants. Miss James is the eccentric Southern spinster born at the turn of the century. Milly Forbes is a woman whose husband "went scot free after stealing twenty years of her life." And the sensible Henrietta "Hen" Hawkins yearns for her absent, ill husband. <P>
On a rural island that they dub a "used-wife lot," the five heroines nurture one another as they cope with loneliness, death, and renewed life. Imbued with wit and compassion, After the Fire is a novel about women loving women and women helping women--and the bond that transcends age, race, and even gender.

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